Going on the plinth is a little like getting married. Well for me it was certainly. For weeks I planned and dreamed about my big day. There was my costume to create, catering to be organised (ok haribo to be bought) and music to be chosen.
I found myself daydreaming about it, but never really believing it would happen. I knew no one who had been up, so none of my friends really got what I was talking about, but all feigned interest and excitement beautifully. I even got a notice in the local paper.
And the big day came! It took on a surreal quality, I kept thinking to myself, I can’t believe today is actually here, I am going to be up there in a few hours! The mixture of fear and excitement drive you forward through the night and onto the plinth.
I got up there, and it was everything I imagined, I danced my little heart out, made a bit of a tit of myself, ignored the people who were drunk and generally had a ball!
Then it was all over, how fast did that hour go? There were all those people I forgot to thank, all the things in hindsight that could have added to the experience and, well - can I not go again please?!
So how do you cope with the post plinth blues? You get married, you get to go on holiday afterwards, you have thank you cards to write and presents to play with which all keep the excitement of the day going for a while.
But for plinthians, that is pretty much it! You get your t-shirt and then home on the bus to real life again.
So here are my top 5 ways to keep the dream alive for a little longer
1. Obsessively watch the live feed while thinking to yourself, ‘I’ve been up there!’ while becoming top 3 #oneandother tweeter
2. Befriend unsuspecting future plinther and help them with their hour, giving them invaluable advice like if you are going to play music, get decent sized speakers
3. Watch the Sky arts programme in the vain hope some media type liked you enough to show a short clip of your hour
4. Create a replica plinth in your garden and relive your hour again and again to the neighbours cats
5. Come join the fun in Trafalgar Square on the 14th October to mourn the end of the project.
So really being on the plinth really is like getting married, only you don’t have to spend silly amounts of money, talk to relatives you have never met or change your name! I just hope my love affair with the plinth lasts longer than my marriage...
